First and foremost, blessings for our beloved Frankie that he makes a speedy recovery and is back home with his family. Hearing that someone is ill with this virus just is gut wrenching to say the least. Frankie, stay strong and know we are praying and supporting you and your family. This pandemic has taken its toll on everyone but we must stay strong for ourselves and each other. This too shall pass in time, and we know there are many unwanted and unexpected casualities, but we must perservere and focus on caring for and supporting each other through this madness. Luckily on Monday the screws allowed my husband to stay out much longer for his alloted hour rec time and we had nearly another 3 hour conversation...Yes, I do indeed need to win this Mega Million Lottery to pay for the phone bill ! But, it was nice to hear his voice , it is comforting and healing. It is reassuring to know he is remaining strong and steadfast and is fighting the good fight. It has been nearly 3 years since I last saw my husband. I can remember the bear hug he gave me and his last words he whispered in my ear and our last kiss. As many of you know one of the most difficult trials is to walk out of that visitation room away from your loved one... not knowing the next time you will feel their hugs again. I try not to think about it and just take solace in the fact I can hear his voice nearly every day to know he is as well as he can be. He tells me he has lost nearly 25 lbs due to limited diet and commissary and his hair is nearly 6 inches long !! No barber due to the pandemic and he is not allowed razors in IMU. He hates it !! And we laugh, it is almost long enough to put his hair into a "man bun", which he will never do or the flaming a** dance. Nearly 3 years with no photo of him, so our hope is to have Sterling transferred to a unit so he can have a tablet and we can at least have video calls until inperson visits can safely resume. His appeal hearing should be scheduled in the next couple of months and of course, we will keep everyone updated. Trying times like these can make one reflect on the positives and the good they have in their lives. The love and support of family and friends. Our circle is small, we prefer it that way , but we do give our thanks to our family here and across the pond and the wonderful supporters we have on the blog. Never, never in our wildest thoughts did we expect this blog to take off as well as it did and the fantastic people we have met on this insane journey. To say we are blessed is an understatement of epic proportions. We are here for each other and we support each other and in my opinion you cannot have enough of those good aspects in one's life. Each night I give my thanks and each morning I awaken with the thought in my head, today is a new day, lets see what we can conquer and do at least one selfless deed for another.